


The Appearance

by MaliceMargot



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe, Conspiracy Theories, Developing Friendships, Drinking, Friends to Lovers, I don't even know that this is about, Light Angst, M/M, Pining, Psychological Horror, Slow Burn, cosmic horror, guess I'm just crazy, ish?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-21
Updated: 2019-04-20
Packaged: 2019-06-30 18:12:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 10,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15757065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaliceMargot/pseuds/MaliceMargot
Summary: Sometimes there were noises; the low rumbling kind, deep and unnatural. Sometimes there were wind, blowing slow steady, passing through every corner, hugging and circling everything that happened to be in its path. But now things like that were the common, usual. The usual noise, the usual wind and the usual presence, hanging low, oppressive over the town.





	1. Familiar

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Appearance](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/434029) by Alex Konstad. 



> A succession of unexplained strange events.
> 
>  
> 
> Please excuse my bad english, I'm trying my very best.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tyler is rude to random people.

Sometimes there were noises; the low rumbling kind, deep and unnatural. Sometimes there was wind, blowing slow steady, passing through every corner, hugging and circling everything that happened to be in its path. But now things like that were the common, usual. The usual noise, the usual wind, and the usual presence hanging low, oppressive over the town.

It was big, colossal; and no one knew where it had come from, it just grew in the heart of the town of Columbus, suddenly, one night. Satellites and surveillance cameras registered its sudden growth. It was still unknown how no one noticed the thing until morning came; no cops saw it, no homeless, no drunken man wandering through the night. But when the sun came up it was there, unmoving and great.

Columbus wasn't the only place affected. Overnight and day around the globe, strange things started happening, appearing, growing, being. There were seven or eight other structures like the one in Columbus, gigantic and humanoid, with abnormally long arms and legs, just deformed bones and no face.

It was old news now, no one was worried anymore. Tyler didn't know why, but everyone seemed to believe everything was fine, maybe it was the government and the TV news numbing the population with its fake-ass non-calamity warnings urging the people to keep on living their lives and don't worry about anything because the governments of the world had everything under control.

Any of that eased Tyler's heart and mind, on the contrary, it worried him; what the so said "governments of the world" have ever done for him or for anyone? So he tried to find answers for himself. Being a grown ass man believing in conspiracy theories didn't do well for his image; not that he cared, but his family did. Truth be told, his family considered him a failure, he didn't have a career and settled for a mediocre job on a music store, at almost 30 he was still not married, he apparently dressed like an emo teenager, and on top of it all he spent almost all of his free time like a "lunatic", like his mother once said on a family dinner in a fit of rage.

 

 

Today was no different, Tyler was sitting on a bench at the square two blocks away from his apartment. He watched the Giant glow faintly, stealing the last dim rays of light from the twilight. Watching that thing was almost a vice for Tyler, the questions it brought were intoxicating, and Tyler's brain was needy. His boring life was turned upside-down by that massive thing.

It rumbled, like distant thunder.

The few other people on the square were unbothered by it, but it sent chills down Tyler's spine and crawled up his skin like an unknown fear, almost activating his fight or flight instincts, almost. He decided it was time to go before the thing upped, even more, his paranoia.

Tyler rushed his way home, trying to let go of thoughts about the Giant watching over the town and stumbling on his own feet.

"Are you okay there?" A voice behind Tyler almost made him jump.

"What?" he spat.

"I'm just asking if you're okay. You seem a little on the edge?" The stranger responded with a sympathetic smile.

"I'm... I'm fine, thank you." Was the man a cultist? Normally, only cultist wanted to 'help' people who seemed in distress. "And I'm not really interested in joining any churches to that thing..." Tyler also added.

"Oh.. Wow! I'm not from any church or whatever." The guy seemed somehow really offended. "I'm just trying to be a good person you know?"

Before he could answer anything the man was already on his way murmuring something about people being mean. But Tyler stayed still and watched the man until he turned a corner and disappeared.

It rumbled again. Tyler thought his mother was right.


	2. Nobody's Watching

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tyler contemplates the city and meets someone.

Getting the job at the music store was a relief for Tyler, all jobs he had before were minimum wage hell, and there, at least, he had a little freedom. Even if his family hated it, Tyler secretly loved working there. Nowadays, most sales were made online, but his boss insisted on keeping the store open, maybe just for nostalgia's sake, but Tyler had nothing to complain about; he loved music and helping the very few clients that showed up wasn't very difficult. He spent most of his working hours alone, so he played the display piano for distraction. No one was there to complain about his vent playing and hesitant singing at the store, the static instruments on display were his only audience.

Tyler didn't need to stay overtime, but once a week he liked to stay and clean the instruments properly. Sometimes he would amaze himself at how much dust there was. Nothing would ever stay clean.

His routine was nothing special, and even on overtime days, he followed it almost religiously. Nothing seemed to ever change, and only on the weekends Tyler allowed himself to, maybe, have a little fun; after all, that's what adults did right? Work all week praying for Friday to come.

At the usual place, at his usual bench, Tyler sat down with his, also usual, RedBull at the side. That was supposed to be his relaxing time right? He tried to relax. There were only a few minutes of sun left, and he wished he could suck it all in and take it home with him, to make things a little warmer inside. But before he could realize the sun was set and the square almost empty, and the even, cold breeze that the night always brought began to blow; Tyler decided it was time to go home.

Tyler could only hear the light cannons being turned on, his eyes stopped at the man who stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of the now half-lit Giant; the cannons didn't reach high enough, letting half of it in the dark. It was somewhat eerie, and Tyler thought it would be better if they let it all in the dark.

It was the man from the day before. Wasn't he used to it? No one else seemed to care.

"Aren't you used to it yet?" Tyler commented without really thinking about it.

The man turned in surprise. "I'm sorry?" But his surprise faded quickly as he recognized Tyler's face.

"Ah..." Tyler realized his mistake taking a step back. "I mean... People normally don't get surprised anymore."

The man hesitated and looked up again. "I'm new here so... I'm still a bit impressed". He turned back to Tyler and offered his hand with a tight smile. "I'm Josh, by the way."

 

"Tyler." He shook Josh's hand. "And I'm sorry about yesterday, it really wasn't a good day so... Yeah" Tyler commented awkwardly.

"It's okay, really." Josh said comprehensively. "I've heard there are too many churches around trying to catch people."

"They are more like cults to me."

"So you're one of those conspiracy theorists?" His tone was playful but Tyler felt shame craw up his skin.

"I... I'm not really..." Was he really that easy to read? "I wouldn't say so..."

"Ah sorry! I didn't mean to..." Josh ran his hand through his hair, maybe dropping the subject all together was better. "Do you know any good places to eat around here? I went looking yesterday but ended up eating at a crappy place."

Tyler thanked the topic shift silently. "There's a great taco place not far from here. They deliver too, I can give you their number.

"That would be great!" Josh answered excited. Did he like tacos?

Talking to strangers wasn't Tyler's favorite hobby, but letting his bad first impression stick wasn't something he would like either, even if he didn't really care about what other people thought.

There was a thunder in the distance. Tyler knew the difference by now.

"Well then, I should be going."  Tyler said looking up at the heavy clouds. Weird how the weather changed so quickly nowadays. "Don't wanna get caught up in the rain."

"Ah yeah, sure." Josh offered his hand again for a farewell. "Nice meeting you Tyler." Was the emphasis on his name really that necessary?

It was already too late. The rain started.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My chapters are small, but we'll get there I promise lol


	3. Fuel to Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josh gets himself into trouble and they have a philosophical drink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this fic isn't coming off as cringy as I feel it to be.

Seeing Josh was a common occurrence now.

He actually lived in the apartment building next to Tyler's, making them neighbors. Most of Their exchanges were simple and fast; Josh was the one who normally started them and Tyler, on the other hand, always ended them. Josh was insistent and Tyler avoidant, but he wasn't totally averted to the idea of the colorful-haired man, after all, Josh didn't look like a bad person despite his punk rock appearance.

Tyler's friends — if he could call them that — weren't very present and didn't invite him for anything, maybe they gave up on him for not being too present too, so he thought about them more as colleges than anything else; leaving casual comments on his Facebook posts and complimenting him on the streets if they happened to see him wandering around, Tyler would do the same for them and that was it. He missed his actual friends, the people who understood him, but they were out of town, like many other people.

At the beginning of the Happening a mass exodus took place, leaving empty cities behind. The ones who didn't leave the affected towns and their surroundings were those who couldn't leave, refused to leave everything behind and some fanatics looking for answers of their own, that ultimately started the cults to adore the Happening and is creatures.

But now it wasn't so uncommon to see people moving in again; as people lost their fears the tide started to shift once again, especially on main cities like Columbus. What once repulsed now attracts.

 

 

On a cloudless Friday, over the watchful presence of the giant, as Tyler was about to enter his building he saw Josh leaving his with a big, bold black eye and a cut on his left cheek. Did Josh get himself into trouble?

"Hey!" Tyler said approaching Josh. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah..." He dismissed. "Apparently I got somewhere I wasn't supposed to go and well..." Josh said pointing at his eye.

"Shit, man... Cultists?"

"They were wearing some crazy ass masks so yeah, I guess so." He looked at his shoes a little embarrassed. "I was going out to grab a drink now so..." Still looking down Josh ran his hands through his hair, it was something he did a lot, Tyler noticed.

"Do you want me to..." Did he read it right? Was that invitation?

"If you want..." He declared unconcerned. "Noticed you don't go out much."

"No, no... I can go." Tyler was suddenly lost. "If you just let me... change..." He grabbed his uniform shirt with the store's logo.

"Yeah sure, go ahead, I'll wait." Josh pressed his lips together, not a simile nor a frown.

Tyler sped up to his apartment.

 

 

 Josh suggested a particularly famous bar Downtown and Tyler didn't object, being in mainstream places reduced the chances of getting attacked out of nowhere, and he didn't have any real preferences so anywhere would suffice. 

They stayed in silence over the few first drinks, a convenient and pleasant silence; after all, they barely knew each other, there was nothing to talk about. But eventually, on the fourth drink, Josh started talking.

"I admit it! I was lost!" Josh said throwing his hands in the air. "But I wasn't expecting a cultist fight club on the second wrong turn."

"I've heard they're getting bigger, growing influence over town" Tyler commented tracing the rim of his cup with one finger.

Josh placed a hand over his black eye and sighed. "I thought life would get better... Moving into a big city and all..." His sight was lost as if he looked somewhere beyond the bottles displayed on the bar. "Now I know why everyone left."

Tyler shifted his attention to the wound on Josh's cheek and found himself lost in thoughts for a minute. Maybe it was better if everyone left Columbus, leave it abandoned and empty, only with its lonely, vigilant and out-of-world Giant.

Was it alive?

Josh looked back at him. Maybe he should stare less. "Do you think it's alive?" Tyler asked in a lower than normal tone.

"What is alive?"

"The Giant."

For a second Josh seemed to be as lost as Tyler. "Uh... I don't know, man. Do you mean alive like... a plant or alive like you and me?"

Did it make any difference?

"Like a plant?" Tyler replied uncertainly.

Josh deflated, conflicted once again. "I... Maybe." He scratched the back of his neck. "Only things that are alive can grow."

How weird.

Tyler ordered a shot of tequila and drank it as soon as the bartender finished pouring the drink. He didn't seem as impressed as Josh, the man probably had seen it many times before.

He felt his whole body ignite. A light wave hit him and the world spun around. What a weird feeling Tyler didn't know he needed.

"You're a cool guy, Tyler." Josh's face cracked up in a smile. " I say we should hang out more."

Tyler's throat was on fire and the alcohol was enough to quiet any sort of deep thoughts on his mind. It was good.

"Definitely." Tyler shook his head trying to put the world back into place. "We definitely should."


	4. Too Low

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josh finds a strange website and Tyler goes check it out.

Maybe it was his imagination, or maybe it was so obvious that no one felt the need to talk about it, but the sky seemed paler those days; soft baby blue, blending in with the slightly off-white of the Giant. The wind was colder, it circled and hanged around for longer, kissing everything in its path. At night Tyler could feel the chill creeping up in his bedroom. It was only natural, but it seemed so sudden to him; it wasn't midsummer anymore, the autumn was here. Tyler admired and envied the world's ability to change so much in so little time.

When did days start to pass so fast?

The town seemed quieter those days too, as if the distant promise of winter sent a silent signal to tuck in and stay put until the sun came back up. Tyler didn't worry himself about that, the cold and the dark were his longtime friends, what really got to him though were the noises at night. In the summer and spring, it was almost friendly, complementing the sounds of the noisy insects and the hazy heat. In autumn, it was an attraction, and in winter you could feel it in your heart and bones, low and resounding, like the stomach of a beast starved for centuries. It was hard sleeping soundly on winter nights.

Josh didn't know that yet. Tyler wondered if he would stay after knowing.

 

 

In the faint cold of the new season, Tyler spent most of his late afternoons locked away at home, writing songs no one would ever hear with his keyboard facing the biggest window on his apartment, in the hopes that, maybe, the dim light from outside would illuminate his cloudy mind. But nothing was that easy, was it?

A notification came up on his phone, Josh's name glowing on the screen.

can you come over?

I found something cool

you 100% need to see it

Tyler wasn't planning on going anywhere today, but whatever Josh wanted to show him picked his interest; for Tyler, anything seemed better than staying inside the whole night.

By now they hanged out fairly regularly, going out for drinks and sometimes for food. Most of the time they shared a silent company, and sometimes they talked about the city, about what it meant to be living there and how fucked up things were. Being too personal didn't feel necessary, but when it happened it felt so natural it was almost bizarre, like when they finally exchanged numbers. That was the kind of easygoing relationship Tyler missed having with other people, thinking now, he didn't feel uncomfortable or anxious by being invited over and he wished all his interactions were so effortless.

The phone lit up again.

okay not really cool

but interesting I guess

412 4th floor

Tyler started to search for a clean hoodie to wear.

 

"They are the ones who beat me up that one time..." Josh said pointing at his laptop screen. "Weird masks and all."

"It's kinda creepy..." Tyler scanned the website a little averted. "How did you find it again?"

"Facebook recommended their page to me!" Josh didn't believe his own words. "Why does a cult have a fucking Facebook page?"

"Easy recruitment." Tyler joked.

Josh's apartment wasn't anything special, he probably hasn't had much time to make it a home yet, but still, everything was obviously so very "Josh". Tyler found himself scanning every little thing, trying to grasp something he didn't know what was. That one photo, was it his parents? The other one, was it him and his friends? Drums? Everything seemed so foreign and exciting to Tyler's eyes.

"So... What do you think?" Josh asked sitting on his bed.

"About what?" Tyler shifted on his chair, tapping the table, unsure.

The site was very amateurish looking, a black background, white hyperlinks and a haunting image of animal masks badly edited to be transparent; Tyler thought it somehow made the whole thing creepier. The links lead to vague pages, one of them described the "organization", its values and its objectives, another contained images of masks and some numbers, one contained an address.

"Come on, Tyler! Aren't you the conspiracy theorist here?" He giggled.

"I'm not." Tyler wanted to run away but spun the chair to face Josh anyway.

"You told me that you broke in one of their bases or something once!"

"That was a long time ago..." And it was something Tyler wasn't really proud of.

"A year isn't a long time." He laid down and sighed. "You should break in again... Shit, _We_ should break in!"

"You got beaten down by two of them, remember?"

"It's different!" Josh defended himself, sounding offended. "I would be prepared."

"We're not teenagers" Tyler laughed at the absurdity. "There's no way we would manage something like that."

"How did you managed then? Why did you do it?" Josh sat back up, looking serious.

The reasons were the worst part of it all. Why did he share that with Josh again? "I was just drunk you know..."

"Just that? Really?" He pressed.

"I guess... I guess I just really wanted to die." Regret instantly started consuming Tyler, but he wouldn't stop there would he? "I was feeling so fucking old, you know? I just did it because I have little regard towards my own life."

Josh didn't say anything in return, he just stared down at Tyler, his face unreadable. Tyler felt like an idiot; what a way to ruin someone's night. He really didn't mean to pour his depressing thoughts on Josh, but once in a while it happened no matter who was in front of him; maybe that's why no one liked to be around Tyler for too long, eventually, those annoying thoughts would come out and ruin everybody's fun.

"I guess it's better if I go?" Tyler asked forcing a smile, embarrassed.

"No, no!" Josh jumped from his bed. "Let's have a Taco Bell night, man!" He smiled sympathetic, resting a hand on Tyler's shoulder. "So we both don't feel like old hags anymore."

Tyler thought the world was being too kind to him.


	5. Obsessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tyler drinks too much and makes a stupid proposition.

Everything was dying, the streets were dressed up in dead leaves and the days grew colder and colder. Nature, sometimes, was quite morbid, but Tyler thought it was beautiful; the world changed so fast, he almost couldn't keep up with it, but he knew how to admire the metamorphosis of the planet. But of course, his days we more than just admiring the scenery, weekdays were still slow, but sometimes, he and Josh would take a few hours from the night to play video games and eat junk food together. On weekends, they would hang around in bars and go to shows of obscure local bands, sometimes getting a little too drunk and eventually have a hard time getting back home. Things were fun, and despite the growing cold, Tyler felt a little more alive; maybe that's how life was supposed to be in his early twenties, but better late than never.

But he also felt guilty, Tyler blamed Josh's new-found interest in the town's mysteries entirely on himself. Josh was cautious and maybe even a little paranoid, nothing compared to Tyler's obsessions, but still. Of course, the town itself had its own influence over the subject; living in a place as affected as Columbus could mess people up, so Tyler felt even more of an obligation to keep newcomer Josh Dun safe, out of the mess that was the city.

But sometimes he couldn't even help himself; it was good having company on his little delusions, and on a Saturday afternoon, on Tyler's apartment building rooftop, he gave in after drinking a little too much for the time of the day.

"Hey, Josh..." Tyler called.

"Yeah."

"Do you still want to..." Tyler looked around, he knew he was about to say something dangerous. "Break in?"

"What? Where?" Josh asked, confused, but didn't get any more than an eyebrow raise from the other. "Are you fucking serious?"

"I am." He laughed shrugging. "I mean, fuck it, you know? What do we got to lose?"

Josh's body tensed visibly, he knew it was a bad idea. "Our lives maybe? How are we even going to do it?"

Tyler smiled wicked. "Do you like ski masks?"

"Shit." Unbelievable. "You _are_ serious. I think you may have drunk too much, buddy"

It was true, but Tyler didn't really care. "Oh, come on... It's gonna be fun!"

"Where did it even came from? Does it have to do with your unattended suicidal tendencies?" There was genuine concern in Josh's voice, but Tyler was too drunk to notice or care.

"No!" Of course it had. "I want an adventure!" He side hugged Josh, almost spilling his beer on the floor. "With you, man!"

"Guess I'll have to be the voice of reason here." Josh said carefully. "You said yourself remember? We aren't teenagers anymore, we wouldn't be able to pull this off."

"Fuck, if we're continuing this friendship what kind of memories will we have together?" It was the first time the word 'friendship' was out, but it came out too natural to any of them to care. "Two idiots on their thirties sitting on rooftops and getting drunk. Kinda shitty if you ask me..."

Josh grabbed a fist full of his own hair in frustration; the reasonable part of him trying to fight Tyler's emotional manipulation. He came to know that Tyler was really good at choosing the right words and getting what he wanted, like a maniac movie director, wanting to share his vision no matter what. His emotions got the best of him.

"Ugh! Are you sure we're not going to die?" Josh groaned painfully.

Tyler jumped to his feet, stretching himself, happy. "I'm not gonna let you die."

Josh frowned. Tyler really had little regard towards his life.

 

 

It was around 10pm and Tyler was feeling desperation setting in, the alcohol on his blood was diluted enough for reason to creep up on him. He wanted to give up, but something stopped him, maybe shame or maybe sheer insanity; so there he was, with his newest friend, on an apparently abandoned industrial site, hands shaking.

"What building is it?" Josh whispered.

Tyler pointed, trying not to show his trembling hands. "The one with the chain link fence."

"We're going there?" His whisper was a little desperate. "Climbing?"

"It's not as hard as it seems."

Tyler ran his hands over the ski mask on his face, trying to dry his sweaty hands. He still had the chance to back out, his body and his reasonable mind were giving warning signs, begging to get out of danger, but he never listened to warnings anyway.

Why did he want to throw himself in the lion's den?

"Look you don't have to do this, you know? You don't need to impress me or whatever." Josh said, maybe reading Tyler's feelings better than the man himself.

"No... I want it." Tyler insisted, his head down. "We're not going to die"

Tyler looked over to Josh, he only could see his mouth and eyes, but he still could read him; scared and uncertain. Tyler felt like a complete idiot, but somehow the frustration only gave him more courage.

How unreasonable.

"Let's go." Tyler ordered.


	6. Cavity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things don't go as planned.  
> (Even if there was no plan in the first place)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are mentions of vomit and feeling nauseous in this chapter, nothing graphic though.

If there was a way for Tyler to feel even more stupid that was exactly it. Climbing was relatively easy, but it could have been easier if they had realized sooner that the fence gate was actually open. Josh let a defeated and yet humorous laugh at the matter, and Tyler felt like smashing and dragging his head on the concrete floor. At least now they had an easy way out, and Tyler felt a bit safer knowing they had an easy escape route if everything went south; but he was also nervous at the possibility of actually needing to use it.

Tyler found out about that abandoned factory some years ago on a random internet forum; the original poster claimed there were some cult activities going on there, but nobody really believed it, since it was so far away from anything related to the Happening. The information sparked something in Tyler, he was probably the only one who went to check it out, and fortunately or not, his curiosity paid off. He'd seen some weird midsummer ritual taking place, and hoped something as interesting as that was happening now; but that was probably not the case since the place was so quiet, somehow almost too quiet.

"Are you sure we're on the right place?" Josh whispered as Tyler walked stealthy.

"Of fucking course I am." He rested flush against the building wall. "If there's nothing happening here today I-" Tyler's voice faded as a noise came from inside the factory.

Josh tensed up and exhaled quietly, as if he were holding his breath in anticipation. Suddenly another noise broke through, louder and heavier than the previous one, like metal dragging on the floor.

"We definitely should get out of here..." Josh's voice was so quiet Tyler almost didn't hear it.

Too late.

Slowly, a door opened.

Tyler felt his heart beating on his mouth as adrenaline swiped over his body.

A hooded figure emerged from the open door, blood red cloak ominously dragging trough the floor. The wall seemed magnetic, Tyler couldn't move a single muscle even if he wanted. When the figure turned it was if gravity shifted, as if the air could swallow them whole, and, for a fleeting moment, Tyler wished it did.

But something seemed very strange, it moved _too_ slowly.

Tyler heard something in the distance, almost on the back of his mind, it sounded desperate and urgent, but he didn't flinch, nothing in the world could make him move, his instincts seemed to have turned off.

The thing dragged itself towards them, slow, _slow_ ; it was close enough now, Tyler could see it. His stomach sank, he wanted to vomit.

_Where the fuck was that thing's face?_

"Tyler!" It was josh, he's voice suddenly strong, like thunder.

Having his name called so loud made Tyler snap back into reality, and suddenly the world seemed crooked, everything was wrong, so _very, very wrong_. Josh grabbed his wrist with astounding force and dragged him. Tyler almost tripped on his feet, but he picked up the pace quickly, running to the gate as if their lives depended on it.

Passing through the gates was a relief, everything felt real again, as if just moments before the whole world had been on pause. Tyler looked back; the No-Faced man stayed behind, static, watching, as if waiting for something. Tyler still felt like vomiting, but his feet failed before his stomach. When residences started taking the place of factories and storage sheds Tyler's legs gave out and everything suddenly went dark.

 

 

Tyler could feel every part of his body, his bones and muscles screamed, but his face was what hurt the most. But at least he was alive and, apparently, safe. The delicate sun light shining on his face was an indication that he wasn't at his own house, but at Josh's, that found himself sleeping on the armchair by his side.

There was also another kind of pain, a psychological one, Tyler could feel dread starting to consume him as the memories from the night started to become clear. The sudden realization hit him; that's why people left. Quietly, Tyler swore to himself he wouldn't fuck this up any further, he couldn't afford to lose the only friend he had left, not so easily and not so quickly.

Quietly, Tyler allowed tears roll down his face, but only a few, and only because he was also in a great amount of physical pain. It made sense to cry now, right? He let out a gross sob making Josh jolt awake. Maybe it was a little more than only a few tears, maybe it was a lot more.

"You okay, man?" Josh asked rubbing his eyes. "I-I can get you some pain killers"

"What happened?" Tyler managed to ask, wiping away the tears.

"You fainted." he got up from the armchair and left the room, but kept talking. "Face first on the floor. We were lucky that guy didn't follow us... "

"Fuck..." Tyler sat up and hugged his own legs, trying not to cry again. His body shivering from pain.

Josh came back with a cup of water, some pills and tight smile. "You also threw up and cried a lot when you woke up before, but now I suppose you better, you're only crying."

Tyler felt shame craw up his skin. "Sorry..."

"It's nothing, really." Josh shrugged, and sat back down. "I still managed to sleep alright"

"I shouldn't have dragged you into that place..." Tyler let out as he felt a bitter taste in his mouth; maybe it was vomit, maybe it was remorse. "I'm a shitty friend."

"A little." Josh sighed and melted into the chair, relaxing. "But I also went there with you, you know? I could have stopped you and I could have stayed." He looked at him with kind eyes. "Don't sweat it, Ty."

Tyler let himself smile at the nickname. Amazing how easy it was for things to fall back into place again. He couldn't fuck this up any further, if he did, he wouldn't be able to find anything like this ever again.

Josh yawned rubbing his eyes again, and Tyler felt like that was his cue to leave; he already had stayed long enough and caused enough trouble. He slowly got to his feet and exhaled hard, Tyler would be sore for some days. Josh didn't bother following.

"Shit... I'm dead." Tyler rubbed his sides and started making his way out. "Guess I'll take a sick day tomorrow."

No farewells were necessary.

"Just don't choke on your vomit while you sleep." Josh said just as Tyler reached the front door.


	7. Hypnos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tyler's back home for the holiday season.  
> But he's not really feeling at home

They settled on not letting Tyler drink too much again, and Tyler himself couldn't agree more; his depressive state of mind and alcohol couldn't mix anymore, not if he wanted to keep anyone around.

But even without drinking, things weren't that good, somehow the events of their break in were still affecting Tyler. When he managed to sleep, the nonexistent facial features of the cloaked man hunted his dreams, waking him up with cold sweats and a feeling that made Tyler want to throw his guts up. To complete his bad luck, the constant insomnia made him hypersensitive, making the Happening itself seem more active than ever. The rumblings, the slithering and the sighs. It was all driving him insane, every second in silence seemed like a second closer to madness.

He faked as much as he could, but Josh, eventually, picked up enough hints to know something was wrong. He seemed honestly worried and tried his best to distract Tyler from whatever was getting him so on edge.

Tyler appreciated the concern despite thinking he didn't deserve it.

Even with all the help he got and the effort he tried to put into distracting himself, when winter rolled around, Tyler was collecting way too many sleepless nights and tons of lyrics, scattered thoughts too different from each other to make a full song.

He went to his family home for the holiday season earlier than usual.

 

 

His old room was bigger than he remembered. Who needed so much space? Tyler was home, still, something felt foreign, strangely lacking. Too big, too blue and too cold. Curling down to preserve heat did next to nothing, the room sucked all warmth. That room used to be the best place in the world for Tyler, his escape, but now that felt like ages ago. Getting old was hard.

Out in the countryside, somehow, it was noisier. It was surprising how Tyler forgot about that. Every floorboard creaked, the wind howled furiously loud and then there were the Insects, buzzing, flying in clouds, hive minds. Tyler could count twenty-eight of them outside his window; rusty, metallic glow in their mantis-like body, like little steampunk aliens watching him.

People called them Insects for a lack of a better term since they were just another one of the anomalies the Happening brought. Giant, Insects, Trees, Shadows. Everything related to the Happening had such impersonal names; familiar yet distant. Were those things not allowed to have their own names? Tyler thought it was just another way to control how people viewed things.

The little bastards were ugly and annoying just like normal insects, but once, when Tyler was younger, he heard they feed on dreams, or on sleep and maybe on life itself, and that's why they thrived on winter when nights were longer and everyone preferred to be asleep. Maybe that's why Tyler hated being home, why he couldn't sleep.

Tyler looked at his phone. 2:13am. He thought about texting Josh to distract himself from the relentless insomnia, and, maybe, talk his dark thoughts away; but Josh was probably already asleep. Alone with his own thoughts, Tyler shifted on his bed as something seemed to shift outside; maybe reality itself.

At 2:20am his phone buzzed, lighting up.

_Shit_

_Something happened??_

_First this loud ass noise_

_I looked outside_

_The light cannons are off_

_Maybe it moved? Creepy_

_Moved? idk don't think so_

_You awake???_

_I guess lol_

_But don't worry abt it_

_If something had happened_

_there would be sirens and shit_

_Yeah yeah I guess_

_But hey_

_Go to sleep?? Its late_

Moved? Moved? Questions started popping up in Tyler's head, the shift in reality seemed greater now. For him, it wasn't possible, even if that thing were alive, even if. But again, how could he know anything? And better, who was Tyler in the face of something seemingly so out of reality?

The world was scary, but right now his mind was scarier.

The snow fell heavily outside.


	8. Tall Bodies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something happened in Columbus and someone is knocking on Tyler's bedroom door.

Something indeed had happened.

When Tyler woke up, way earlier than he had expected, the house was in frenzy. From his room, he could hear the television downstairs, unexpectedly loud, and his siblings talking, talking and talking. Soon enough Tyler found the reason: the Happening. All media was blasting news nonstop, his Facebook was flooded, scattered pieces of information all over his feed. Something had happened, and, apparently, not something small.

Over breakfast all eyes were glued to the TV, scanning and analyzing the images and homemade videos shown, watching and trying to piece together all the news coming from all over the country and all over the world. Ignoring all the calming and reassuring messages that were repeated over and over again, like a mantra, was easy but hard to miss; Tyler thought the mild worry on the reporters' faces was too fake.

Back in Columbus, Tyler discovered, the Giant had cracked, a piece of its bony tall body fell and landed in a, thankfully, abandoned factory, but too far away from where it was mathematically supposed to fall. The information made something stir inside Tyler. Also, around the fallen piece, more bony formations started growing; smaller than the mother Giant, just sharp pointy growths, circling, as if protecting.

Tyler stuffed his mouth with cereal and thought about bones and decay. Maybe the Happening was rotting away, or maybe it was spreading. If the Giant was alive it could die, and if it could die, it eventually would, it would.

Right?

His phone rang just as he swallowed. It buzzed, and it buzzed again, and again, and again. Tyler didn't move. Somehow he already knew. Zack, his brother, looked at him averted; surprised that Tyler was actually receiving a call.

"Just go get it, Tyler." His mother sighed, impatient.

Tyler excused himself, avoiding looking anyone in the eyes, and hurried towards his room, already feeling throat tightening up in anticipation.

"Hello?" Tyler picked up the phone as soon as he closed his bedroom door behind him.

"Man, what the fuck..." Josh's voice sounded rough through the phone. Had he just woken up? "Did you see it? Did you see the news?"

"Yeah, I've seen some." He laid down on his bed, looking emptily at the ceiling.

"You... Shit... You saw it right?" The fear in Josh’s voice awakened his own fear. It almost made Tyler hang up. "Where it fell?"

Tyler didn't answer.

"I mean... It's the same place, right?"

Tyler didn't answer. He was holding his breath.

"It's just a coincidence..." Josh's sounded a broken. "Right?"

Tyler didn't answer. He didn't need to.

"Fuck..." Josh whispered. "Okay, okay... I need to calm down."

"Okay..." Tyler exhaled. He didn't hang up; neither did Josh.

Tyler listened to Josh’s rapid breathing through the phone, he was almost hyperventilating. He pictured Josh pacing around his apartment, trying to calm himself down, and remembered the time when Josh told him he had really bad anxiety problems; that information only made Tyler feel worse. It was all his fault, all of it.

There was a soft knock on his door. And Tyler ignored it, sitting up.

"Do you have any plans for new years?" Josh asked suddenly, finally breaking the silence between them.

There was another knock, a little heavier. "What?" Tyler said, confused, not knowing if he was answering to Josh or the knocking.

Josh sighed. "Look, I'm just trying to think about something else."

"No. I don't." Tyler looked mindfully at his bedroom door, the knocking coming in again even more intense. “No plans.”

Josh exhaled, shaky. Tyler could perfectly visualize Josh running his hands through his bright hair. “Wanna do something? This coworker is throwing a party at her house, said to bring more people along.”

The knocking became an incessant banging.

“I don’t really want to go but...” Josh let out and groaned, waiting for a response that didn't come “Ty? You there?”

Tyler was static, someone was trying to bring his door down using only fists. The rest of his house was quiet, no conversations, no TV, every other sound was subjugated by the incessant bashing on his door. A rush of adrenaline pushed away any thoughts and Tyler's body moved on its own; he let his phone slid to the floor and dashed through the room, bursting the door wide open.

No one was there.

"What the..." Tyler whispered breathlessly.

After what felt like an eternity of staring out at the empty corridor, Tyler heard a murmur coming from the phone on the ground. He released his death grip on the doorknob, reality starting to set itself in place once again.

He picked it up. "Sorry, I'm here." Tyler sat on the floor this time, leaning in on the bed, carefully watching his now open door.

"What the fuck? What happened?" Genuine confusion on Josh's voice.

"I think I might be going crazy." he was received with a sigh. "Like, legitimately crazy."

"Maybe... But you know," Josh was casual. His tone maybe too kind for Tyler to handle. "Christmas suck."

A sob came before Tyler could say anything, and long waited tears came down in a flood.

"Sorry." Tyler cried out in between his sobs.

Josh didn't answer. He didn't need to.

And maybe staying there, just breathing through the phone wasn't the most social thing to do, and maybe it wasn't the most normal thing either, but he wasn't alone and it was strangely soothing; like a piece of sureness on that wavering, relentless world.  
  



	9. Focus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tyler realizes something important.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you like this chapter, guess I can say I'm kinda proud of this one.

Going to the party was far from being Tyler’s best decision, he was obviously out of place and visibly anxious. And to make his situation even better, Josh left him as soon as they arrived, only coming back once or twice to introduce some of his coworkers. It was awkward, but no one Josh brought seemed to be strange to his name, and Tyler wondered how Josh talked about him to other people.

We’re all different people on the eyes of others.

Tyler allowed himself a few drinks, nothing too much, just to, hopefully, loosen up a bit, but it obviously had the exact opposite effect. He felt even more out of place; the only person he knew in the house was nowhere to be seen; and talk about being seen, it felt like every eye was on him. Maybe he should stick with his usual RedBull next time.

The house was nice, the suburban stereotype at best, but the couches were uncomfortable, too soft, and the majority of people there looked like there just came out of a sitcom, somehow, not really genuine; and that made Tyler realize he didn’t know with what Josh worked. But, at least, the snacks were good.

Tyler wanted to leave, but leaving before midnight would be rude, right? Josh told him they would have a good view of the fireworks from the house’s backyard. He needed to stay.

He gulped down more beer and looked around, trying to see any familiar faces, in vain. But, in the corner of his eyes, Tyler cached a glimpse of red, he turned quickly and felt nausea wash over him. There he was, red cloak and null facial features, standing static in a corner, as he had been there all the time, just waiting.

Tyler felt his grip tighten on the neck of the bottle he was holding. “Fucking Slenderman wanna be...” He mumbled to him himself, shaking.

It couldn’t be real, it just couldn’t be because no one else seemed to notice him, it had to be his imagination. The figure stayed still, watching him with no eyes, and Tyler thought about getting closer.

“Hey, Ty!” Josh’s voice came from behind him, interrupting his thoughts. “Everything okay?” He side hugged Tyler, one hand on his shoulder and the other holding a cup.

Tyler knew it was just a casual question, but sincerity flew out of his mouth. "No." He looked at Josh, half smiling, and immediately regretting his answer.

“What?” Josh’s smile fell out of his face. “What happened?”

In his peripheral vision, Tyler saw a movement. It started getting closer.

"I-" His voice failed. "I _really_ need to go."

"Why?" Josh held him in place, hand squeezing Tyler’s shoulder.

How do you even tell someone you need to go home because you’re having hallucinations of a creepy old man with no face?

That's right, you don't.

"I'm just not feeling well." Tyler yanked himself from Josh's grasp. "Must have eaten something weird..." he started making his way out of the room, not looking back, hopefully, letting the cloaked man behind.

But Josh was quick in picking up his lie and followed him all the way to the house’s empty entrance hall. Without looking at Josh, Tyler shuffled through the coat hack, nervously, feeling Josh’s eyes on the back of his neck.

"You won't tell me what’s up?" Josh asked when Tyler finally found his coat and turned.

Tyler was taller than him, but he felt small with Josh cornering him like that. "I'm just not feeling well, man." Tyler pushed him away and went to the front door, bursting it open.

The winter cold collided with Tyler’s face and sent a shiver down his spine.

"Alright." Josh said angrily and started searching for his own coat.

"No, no. You need to stay."

"No, I don’t." Josh said, staring at him with his coat in hands.

Tyler looked away, trying to see through the walls, listening to the other people on the house partying and having fun; they heard a glass shattering and laughter. Josh understood.

"I didn’t even want to come in the first place." He reassured Tyler.

They left the house in silence.

 

Tyler and Josh walked quietly. The streets were understandably empty, and the silence was only broken by the creaking of their shoes on the snow, the muffled sound of music coming from house parties and the occasional rumbling in the distance. For Tyler, the situation should be maddening, but it was strangely comfortable.

With no warning, the show started, colors exploding in the sky. The always static Giant was blasted with hues it only experienced a few times per year; it was equal parts oddly beautiful and terrifying. Tyler also felt divided, both guilty, for taking Josh away from the ‘fun', and happy, for finally being away from all those people.

"We’re gonna watch?" Josh asked turning to face the fireworks.

Tyler nodded and proceeded to sit down, right there, in the middle of the street, not really worrying about cars, who would be out at a time like this anyway? Josh followed, and they watched the sky brightening up.

"My ass is freezing." Tyler said with fake sadness on his voice.

Josh chuckled and flashed a smile at him before turning his eyes back at the fireworks. Tyler noticed Josh smiled with his tongue between his teeth, the same way he was always with his hand on his hair. It was soothing, predictable in a good way.

"Wow, I guess I drank too much..." Tyler spat, confused by his thoughts.

"What?" Josh asked, not really paying attention.

"Nothing, nothing!" The answer came out a little more desperate than Tyler expected. "It's just..." Tyler sighed burying his hands in his pockets and laying down on the asphalt, silent.

"Hm." Josh hummed quietly.

Who cared for fireworks anyway?

Tyler didn't move for a few moments, he didn't care, it didn't matter, but it was beautiful. Beauty was made to be appreciated, right?

He sat up again, but his eyes were far from the spectacle on the sky. When did _that_ happen? He couldn't really remember, but the realization happened right there, looking at Josh and seeing the colors from the fireworks become endless fractals in his dark, dark eyes.

"I'm just glad I met you." Tyler kept staring, maybe his words sounded too serious, too revealing, but they were nothing but the truth.

Josh looked back at him, an indecipherable smile on his face. "Happy New year, Ty."

Suddenly it was too much, Tyler looked down and then back at the sky, his face red from more than just the cold. "Happy New year..."


	10. Doom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are fine until they are not.

It didn't take long for it to happen again. Soon enough another piece fell, and Tyler was there to hear it this time. He could swear he had never heard something so utterly terrifying in his life. Loud and roaring, surely resonating all over town. It was a screeching beyond words, but if a soul leaving its body had a sound, Tyler though, it probably sounded exactly like that.

But, as scary as it sounded, where it actually fell made things feel even more sinister. The calm, mundane square Tyler visited during the hotter months of the year was now nothing more than debris and sharp bones.

For a second, Tyler thought the Happening was somehow following him.

After the second piece, that kind of event only became more and more frequent. A fragment every two weeks, then every week, and then every three days. Some pieces small, some big, but, fortunately, despite the frequency of the incidents, no one ever got hurt. The only places destroyed were empty areas, abandoned corners, liminal spaces.

Weirdly enough, the Giant was apparently still intact, towering over Columbus in all its glory. People acknowledged that, and it created both a haunting atmosphere and an unspoken secret between the citizens. Once in a while, Josh commented things about wormholes, aliens and other dimensions, while Tyler tried to convince him that their reality wasn't a Donnie Darko inspired movie. But despite that, Tyler recognized their world was becoming absurd, getting weirder by the minute.

By the end of winter, the city was lined with bony spikes. Tyler’s mother called frequently, asking him to leave, to come back home to safety; but something kept him in place, he couldn’t go away, he _shouldn't_ , not yet. Josh actually wanted to leave, but couldn't, his financial situation didn't allow. With nowhere to run, they stayed. No escape for both of them.

  
  


"Don't you get sore from sleeping on the couch?" Tyler asked.

Josh let his head fall back with the biggest yawn. “Not really...". He stared at Tyler. "Do you want me to leave?"

Tyler shifted. “Not really... Just... Do whatever, man.”

Josh closed his eyes and relaxed even further, melting on the couch. “I Don’t like being home alone anymore... not with all this shit going down lately.”

“I meant physically sore.” Tyler joked.

Josh snorted lazily. “I know.”

Tyler got up, taking the video game controllers and the empty Doritos bag that sat between them along. The other man took that as an opportunity to stretch himself fully on the couch, murmuring something Tyler didn't quite catch.

"I'm gonna bring you some stuff." Tyler placed everything on the coffee table.

"Yeah, whatever."

Josh looked impossibly comfortable laying on Tyler's old couch, as if he was meant to be there all along, relaxed and sound. Tyler really envied that. Contrary to Josh, he was the insomniac type; shifting and turning until his body, too tired of itself, collapsed involuntary and without warning. When Josh was over, sleeping was particularly hard. It wasn't the same agitated insomnia as most nights, but a quiet, static longing. His body on high alert all the time, picking up every sound, every sigh; too aware for his own good.

He didn't search for long to find the things he was looking for. Josh ended up sleeping over often, so, spare pajamas and blankets were within easy reach. It would be a lie to say that they weren't close now; it felt like they were gravitating towards each other. A binary star system. And scary concept for Tyler.

Would they collide or grow distant?

 

Tyler returned to a heavy breathing Josh. "I know you're not asleep.". And he threw everything he brought into the other man.

Josh groaned, drowning in blankets. "Come on..."

 "Yeah come on... I'm not gonna let you sleep dressed like that."

"Don't like my style?"

"You're fine." Tyler started turning the electronics off. "But your attitude kinda off." he chuckled and turned with a smirk.

Josh smiled tilting his head to the side, question in his eyes.

"Well I'm not the one sleeping over because I'm scared and shit..."

 Josh's face twisted in an exaggerated shocked expression and he threw a pillow that landed on Tyler's face. The casual domesticity he shared with Josh wasn't exactly new, but Tyler appreciated it much more than he could allow himself to show.

But as a siren broke in, the light mood dissipated.

"Another?" Josh's playfulness faded.

"Another."

Three months after the first fragment, government based scientists apparently found a way to know when another piece was going to drop. No details were made public, but, supposedly, it had to do with atom oscillations and the gravitational space around the Giant. It wasn't exactly a prediction since they only knew a few minutes before, but it helped; it gave people enough time to brace themselves.

This time the siren seemed to cry out for longer; ear-piercing and maddening.

 "Annoying..." Josh complained covering his ears and sinking himself further on the covers and pillows.

The sound grew increasingly louder and higher, forcing Tyler to mimic Josh, trying to block the deafening sound from bursting his eardrums.

Tyler felt a sudden tightness.

An even higher pitched noise broke through, different from the default siren, and at the same time, light flooded Tyler's vision, making him lose balance and fall to his knees. The ground beneath them shook and, desperate, Tyler tried to see through the overwhelming light, but there was nothing but white.

Something felt _so_ wrong. It wasn't quite a shock wave, it something else.

The world being ripped apart.

And as soon as it started it ended; all too sudden.

The ground was steady and the light vanished.

But now there was darkness. A blackout. And there they waited in silence for a few seconds — minutes, hours, days. Maybe processing what had just happened, maybe ignoring it. The world was on hold until a loud scream brought it back and neither Tyler nor Josh waited for another second, dashing to the front door together and poking their heads outside.

No one There. Tyler indicated the stairs with his head and Josh silently agreed.

 

Their descent seemed to stretch on forever. The flights of stairs repeating endlessly, the muffled sound of their bare feet on the steps, and the almost palpable hyper-awareness of it all. The atmosphere dense; a transition state, preparing them for something.

Reaching the second floor another scream pierced through their ears and they rushed. Tyler almost fell when they reached the building's entrance hallway.

No one there. But the doors were stretched wide open.

"Fog?" Tyler asked confused, seeing nothing but white outside.

Josh shook his head no and raced outside. Somehow, he had caught up on something Tyler hadn't yet perceived.

 Clueless, Tyler followed.

The first thing he noticed, of course, was the white, white dust. It covered the street, it covered the people huddled there, it made Josh's hair look pastel. The second thing was the wreckage, the debris of once was Josh's apartment building.

A bloody arm, bent in an unnatural shape, poking through the concrete pieces.

And rumble in the distance.


	11. Spend the Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I must have rewritten this chapter at least 10 times now, I'm still not satisfied, but here it is anyways.

"I'm off to work, okay?" A rhetorical question, Tyler knew his words wouldn't reach Josh. "Call if you need anything."

The other man just groaned and mumbled a lazy agreement, going right back to sleep. Tyler was almost jealous, he wasn’t able to get more than two hours of sleep and spent his night in an insomnia haze, closely listening to the havoc outside. His trance was only broken by the need to check up on Josh every now and then; Josh who had taken maybe too many of Tyler's sleeping pills to calm down. The man's mind had collapsed just as his building - A turmoil of shock, fear, and anxiety.

Deep down Tyler knew it was only a matter of time before things went back to normal, both for Josh and for the rest of the city. Humans are adaptable, even in the face of the unknown and tragedy they work for their order, fight for their status-quo, their fabricated meaning.

Shock was momentary. And fear didn't stay around for long.

How does one abstain themselves from tragedy? Despite everything, Tyler had to go to work. Life doesn't wait around, and he was just a piece in the puzzle, already starting the process of reestablishing order.  There was an instrument shipment due to arrive that day, and Tyler was the only employee of the store, he had to be there if we wanted to keep his job.

And so he went.

At the store, Tyler received the instruments, helped a few clients out and cleaned the dusty displays. Killed the hours as best as he could, maybe also killing half of his functional brain in the process; a blur of endless minutes, dissolving into one another. He cleaned again.

_And Nothing ever stayed clean._

It was impossible knowing for sure who should and shouldn't be there, the streets were a mess, mayhem. Clouds of dust and whisper accompanied by a complex security system of darting eyes and cameras pointing everywhere.

Somehow, Tyler managed to dodge most of the cameras, but some reporters persisted. He held his breath while trying to dismiss them as if breathing was giving out too much information. Only when he made it to the inside of his building Tyler allowed himself to exhale, and, only when he entered the elevator, he fully relaxed; resting flush against cold metal.

The mirror on the back wall of the elevator was flawlessly clean; Tyler looked miserable reflected on it. A faulty figure on an immaculate surface. He desperately needed a bath, a hot meal, a decent night's sleep and a reassuring pat on the shoulder, a kiss on the forehead; just to give him a little more strength to keep going a while longer.

T The lights flickered and the elevator let out a coarse, metallic creak. Tyler closed his eyes, heart sinking in his chest; reality was shifting again. But did that mean anything? Did it even matter? His world was already crooked.

 

Once inside his apartment, Tyler threw his backpack on the floor and kicked his shoes off, popped his neck and stretched. Home. Finally a chaos of his own doing, a familiar mess. But of course, nothing is that perfect; if Josh's screams and curse words from the bathroom meant anything, stress was far from over.

Pushing covers and pillows aside, Tyler threw himself on the sofa. Comfortable, he waited. Synthesis; an amalgamation of body and furniture. Tyler didn't mean to eavesdrop, but it happened anyway

"God! Just fucking stop saying that!" Josh's voice sounded angry but somewhat contained. "I just told you! At a friend's house..." A very long pause, the tension grew with silence. "Fuck off!" He exploded. "I don't need to hear that from you! Especially right now! You know I have no other choice, just fucking wait until you say shit like that." A shorter pause, with an inch of less tension. "Whatever. Bye.".

Josh exited the bathroom slamming the door behind him, and when his eyes meet Tyler’s the discomfort was almost palpable. “Hi.” He said blankly. “Didn’t know you were there...”

“Just got here.” Tyler cleared. “Is everything okay? I've never seen you curse like that before.”

“Yeah, just...” He sighed. “Who am I kidding? My mom was being an asshole to me over the phone. Amazing how she went from worried to bitch in less than three minutes.”

Tyler nodded comprehensibly, he had his own share of bad blood with his family but didn't think that Josh was the kind to suffer in his parents' hands. Maybe that could count as one more thing they had in common.

After standing around awkwardly for a while Josh finally moved, sitting on the farther end of the couch. “She wants me back home as soon as possible.” He says.

“Are you going?”

“I don't know,” Josh said, sliding down on the couch. “but it's not like I have any other choice at this point.”

The only things Josh had left were the clothes on his body, his phone, laptop, their respective chargers, and one or two hoodies that actually were sitting at Tyler’s apartment for a while. But that still wasn't much, right? Not enough to justify staying. Yet, was everything really lost? Tyler could say they still had each other, but that would be reaching too far, stretching the importance of Tyler and their friendship in Josh's life too much.

But maybe, just maybe...

The thought made Tyler's stomach do a flip. The idea wasn’t that far fetched, right? It was flooding his mind now. He looked over at Josh, who was already staring back at him, and Tyler felt like he was about to vomit. He forced himself to look away. It was almost too much, the shine in Josh's eyes, maybe he was thinking the same, and that possibility made Tyler want to crawl into himself, retrieve.

“You could also... You know.” He gestured.

“What?" Josh asked and Tyler shook his head, trying to put his brain back in place. “I’m open to any alternatives.” The hint of desperation on the edge of Josh's voice made it.

“You don't need to...” Tyler tried to sound casual but didn't look at Josh. “But you could stay here for a while?” He let his head fall back with a big sigh. “At least until you sort out things with your job or whatever.”

“Really?” Nothing in his voice.

“I mean, why not? You're kind of already here.” Tyler gathered a bit of courage and looked over to Josh.

And there it was.

Tyler's much-needed pat on the back, the kiss on his forehead.

Josh's face lit up with the slightest smile, and a weight was lifted from Tyler's shoulders, a weight he didn't know was there in the first place – The fear of losing. And now Tyler wasn't one with just his old beaten up couch, he was one with the whole world around him, the whole madness, the whole universe and its disorder.

"And if you end up not hating staying around we can figure out rent later," Tyler added, and Josh let out a wholehearted laugh that brightened up the rest of the day.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> Constructive criticism is very welcome.


End file.
